Buffer for doors.



S. B, ATWOOD. BUFFER FOR DOORS. APPLICATIQN FILED DECJI, I916- Patented May 15, 1917 STAS FATE FFJIE SETH B. ATWOOD, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS.

BUFFER FOR DOORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 15, 11917.

Application filed December 1, 1916. Serial No. 134,458.

of Illinois. have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Buffers for Doors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates in general to bufiers or bumpers for swinging doors and the like and is particularly adapted for use on automobile bodies to serve as a buffer for cushioning the closing movements of. the doors and also to prevent the doors from rattling.

It has been customary prior to my invention to equip either the door frames or the doors themselves bf automobiles with buffers which consisted of rubber members rigidly secured in position so that they would cushion the closing movements of'the doors and be somewhat compressed between the doors and the door frames when the doors were closed so as to prevent the doors from rattling. These buffer members, however, so far as I am aware have been fixedly mounted so as to project beyond the rigid mounting or fastening" devices a fixed and invariable distance. It has been found, however, that the doors of different makes of'cars vary widely in their proximity of approach to the door frames when in the position that they assume when closed. and there is even considerable variation in the doors and door frames of cars of the same make.

As the result of the differences and irreg ularities in doors and-body constructions'a standard fixedly mounted buffer member is not at all satisfactory, as one of the bufier members of the door often extends outwardly too far so as to interfere with the proper closing of the door while the other member may not extend outwardly far enough to be of any service whatsoever to prevent rattling. Furthermore, even if the bumpers happen to be the required length and are properly positioned when the car is new, the rubber buffer members will become compressed and fwillwear down to a certain extent or the door and the door frame will become sprung so that after the car has been in use for some time the buffers will be ineffective to prevent rattling of the doors.

One of the primary objects of my present invention is to provide a buffer, the rubber member of which can be readily adjusted inwardly or outwardly on its support so that itcan be properly positioned to serve as a cushion for the door and also to prevent rattling, and can also be readily adjusted as desired by the car owner or any one unskilled in the use of tools, to bring the buffer member into the proper relation and position in the event that the door frame has been sprung or the buffer has been partially worn down or compressed by extended use.

Another object of my invention is to provide a buffer which will be exceedingly simple in construction and will embody but one fastening device which serves the dual purpose of locking the yielding buffer member in adjusted position and alsoof securing the buffer member as a whole to the door frame or support upon which it is mounted. By employing only one fastening device for these two purposes it will be readily apparent that if the buffer. member is not properly positioned the car owner, even if he is not familiar with the construction of the buffer, will be able, as soon as he has loosened the holding screw, to adjust the buffer member into the requisite'position.

A further object of .my invention is to provide a buffer which will be cheap to manufacture and one which can be very quickly and easily assembled and placed in position and also one which will be strong, substan .tial and durable in operation.

Other objects and many of the inherent advantages of my invention will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying sheet of drawings. ings- Figure 1 is an elevation of the face of a door jamb of an automobile body equipped with a buffer and anti-rattler embodying my improvements;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view through the buffer showing the relation of a door thereto, and

Figs. 3 to 6 inclusive are perspective views of the parts in disassembled arrangementand showing respectively the screw for securing the parts together, the casing, the buffer and a fragmentary portion of the door jamb.

The door and frame to which my improvements are shown as being applied are of conventional design especially adapted for automobile bodies. and are respectively designated by reference characters 7 and 8. While I have shown the bufi'er member Referring to the drawthe door jamb is of wood construction and silient material.

' a bufier-receiving depression 9 is out therein in the manner clearly shown in Fig. 6.

Should the door casing be of metallic con-( struction the depression 9 would be either pressed in or cast to shape according to the material used in constructing the door frame.

In the depression 9 is located a yieldable buffer designated by character 11 and shown in-the form of a rectangular block of rubber or a composition of some suitable re- 7 One side of the buffer bears against the wall 12 of the depression 9 and the end 13 of the bufier projects be yond the face of the door jamb as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 2. A casing designated by 14 snugly fitting in the depression 9 cooperates with the buffer, being shaped to incase four sides thereof, as shown, and to allow the buffer to be slidable lengthwise so that its head 13 may be projected more or less through the open end 15 of the casing. This casing serves as a clamping member and need not necessarily be of the particular shape shown, although in its present embodiment the casing, together with the door frame, very efi'ectually houses and supports the buffer, the arrangement being simple and compact.

The clamping member 'thus cooperating with the yieldable buffer is adapted to be moved toward the face 12 of the door frame to secure and hold the buffer in fixed relation thereto, and my invention contemplates the provision of means for accomplishing this purpose, and, in addition, for holding the buffer to be adjusted so that its head may be projected more or less into the door-way. A single means is employed for performing. this dual function, and in the present instance is in the form of a wood screw" 16 which passes through an aperture 17 in the casing or clamping member 14 and a slot 18 in the buffer in alinement with said aperture and screws into the door frame as shown clearly in Fig. 2. The edges about the. aperture are countersunk so as to be pressed into the rubber buffer when the screw 16 is tightened. It willbe obvious that when this screw is tightened, the member 14 will clamp the buffer to the door frame so as to rigidly secure the buffer in fixed relation thereto. The countersunk edges mentioned will increase the clamping efl'ect, since they are pressed into the rubber buffer and also tend to spread the portions thereof contiguous to the slot 18.

Furthermore the relative inflexibility of the member 14: distributes the clamping, ef: fect over an area of thebufl'er member surrounding the screw, thereby preventing the screw from injuring or unduly distorting the buffer member. The member 11 serves therefore not only as a clamping member, but also as a protecting member for the buffer.

The buffer thus secured and held will effectually serve to cushion the closing movement of the door 7 and when the same is locked it will be held by the buffer against rattling. In the event that the door or casing becomes sprung or the bufl'erbecomes worn after usage, the screw 16 may be loosened and the buffer may be moved out sutficiently to allowit to function properly, whereupon the screw will be tightened to fixedly secure the parts in the newly adjusted position. The adjustment is simple and it will be noted that the parts employed in my improvements are remarkably few and of such simple design as will enable them to be manufactured at a very low cost.

In the case of a metallic door frame, it;

should, of course, be understood that the screw member would be of a construction suitably adapted for the purpose and the door frame would be threaded or a nut would be provided to receive the screw. I claim:

2 1. A door bufi'er comprising an elastically-yieldable buffer-member, a casing embracing the bufl'er member and open throughout the back of the casing ,and one end thereof, said bufl'er member projecting through the open endof the casing and having a thickness exceeding the depth of the casing, and means for securing the device to a support with the buffer member clamped between the front of the casing and the support to which the device is applied, said means consisting of a fastening piercing the casing and the buffer member, and said buffer member having a slot receiving th fastening and permitting; adjustment of the buffer member through the open edge of the casing. H

2. A buffer and anti-rattler attachment for doors comprising an attaching plate adapted to be secured in a door jamb or in a door cotiperable therewith, a buffer associated with the attaching plate andmovable relatively thereto to project moreor less therefrom, and means including a screw memberadjustable from within the sides of thevdoor or casing toa rigidly secure the buf- SETH B. ATWOOD. 

